2. What is the examiner
looking for?
A decent understanding of the media industry we
have studied – the film industry.
Specific examples from case studies to show off
this knowledge and understanding.
An address of the question – i.e. not just
everything you know about the companies you
are studying/The Film Industry. You need to
structure a response to the set question.
Knowledge and understanding of the areas of
audiences and institutions.
3. How do I…
Show a decent understanding of the media industry
we have studied – the film industry?
It’s an oligopoly. This means that the industry is
dominated by a small number of major companies.
It’s 6 in the case of the film industry. Sony are one of
them. Most media industries are oligopolies. This
makes it tough for smaller independent companies
to break through. This means that audiences perhaps
don’t get as much choice as they should because the
6 majors control most of the market and the films
they make are fairly similar. This is why the UK Film
council was giving grants to independents – to allow
something different to get made. This is what the UK
F.C. mean by ‘diversity’. Obviously, the UK Film
Council won’t be doing this any more as they’ve been
disbanded by the current government. The BFI will
now do some of the work that the UK Film Council
used to do.
4. How do I…
Show a decent understanding of the media industry
we have studied – the film industry?
Make it clear that you know that the film industry can
be broken down into production, distribution and
exhibition. Different companies specialise in different
stages. Sony / Columbia are a production company.
Another company is a distribution company . VUE are
an exhibition company. A company that has an
interest in each stage is known as vertically
integrated. In some ways, Sony might be called
vertically integrated.
Remember too that production can be broken down
into pre-production (planning), production (filming)
and post-production (editing).
5. How do I…
Show a decent understanding of the media
industry we have studied – the film industry?
Remember that distribution is often referred to
as P and A – Prints and Advertising. Distributors
are responsible for promoting the film and
getting it into cinemas and then onto the
ancillary markets. DVD stores and onto the
various forms of TV (VOD etc.)
Exhibition is dominated by small number of
companies (yep – it’s an oligopoly). This can
restrict audience choice. Smaller independent
cinemas (typically found in urban areas) offer a
choice for audiences beyond big budget
6. How do I…
Show a decent understanding of the media
industry we have studied – the film industry?
Show the examiner that you know that there is
no guarantee of success with a film – it’s a risky
business. Most films make a loss at the cinema.
This is another factor that makes it tough for the
independent film companies to attract funding –
investors know that they could lose money.
Also worth saying that there are tax breaks to
encourage the production of British films.
7. How do I…
Show specific examples from case studies to
show off this knowledge and understanding?
Sony Pictures – distributor for QoS. Part of Sony
Corporation. MGM were the production company
(alongside EON). Sony own 20% of MGM so are
involved in Production and Distribution.
Sony Corporation are a huge multi-national
conglomerate with a range of interests and a
massive amount of cash behind them. Budget for
QoS was about £140 million for production
alone. About half this again would have been
spent on marketing!
8. How do I…
Show specific examples from case studies to
show off this knowledge and understanding?
We will look into the production company behind
Attack the Block. A Small, independent
production company.
What deals they struck to distribute the film.
Whether they received grants from the UK Film
Council towards production costs.
Whether they received money from venture
capitalists hoping to make a profit.
9. How do I…
Show specific examples from case studies to show off this knowledge
and understanding?
Marketing campaign for Quantum was conventional but huge in scale
and cost. All to reach a mainstream, demographically broad target
audience.
Marketing campaign for Attack the Block was ground-breaking,
limited in cost and highly targeted/pinpointed. All to reach a niche
audience.
Quantum opened on 540 cinemas in the UK and took £15.4 million in
its first weekend!
Attack the Block opened on X screens in the UK and took £X million
in its first weekend.
Quantum has taken over £50,000,000 at the cinema in the UK alone
so far. It will take a heap more on subsequent exhibition windows –
DVD etc.
Attack the Block has took over £X million at the cinema in the UK
alone – and has since taken more from DVD sales and VoD.
10. How do I…
Address the question…
Re-write it if you need to – but don’t lose the
focus of it!
Plan your essay – take 5 minutes to do this and
focus on addressing the question.
Refer to the words of the question in the
introduction and throughout the essay.
11. How do I…
Show knowledge and understanding of the areas of
audiences and institutions.
Institutions – by talking about Sony, Cipher, Pathe,
Fox, EON, MGM, UK Film Council in the ways that
we’ve covered!
Audiences – Identify (and contrast) the target
audiences for the two films. Make sure it’s relevant
though. If you don’t think the question is asking for it
then don’t go mad.
If you can, discuss the amount of choice for
contemporary audiences (thanks to proliferation of
hardware and content!) and the fact that this makes
things even harder for film producers. Especially
